1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector and a connection structure for the electric connector.
2. Description of Related Arts
Usually, an electric connector has a housing made of a synthetic resin and a contact made of a metal and held in the housing (refer to, for example, Document 1 below).
Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-331732 (publication date: Nov. 30, 2000)
The contact has a base portion secured to the housing, a slender bent portion extending in an S-shape from the base portion, and a protruding contact portion provided at the tip end of the bent portion. The contact portion makes contact with a conductive pattern formed on the front surface of a circuit board and is pressed thereby. Hence, the bent portion is deformed elastically, and an elastic reaction force is applied from the bent portion to the conductive pattern. As a result, contact pressure is generated between the contact portion and the conductive pattern.
For example, a configuration can be conceived in which a receiving portion being opposed to a contact portion with a clearance provided therebetween is formed in a housing and the receiving portion receives a circuit board inserted between the contact portion and the receiving portion. With this configuration, the circuit board can be prevented from being away from the contact portion, and contact pressure between the conductive pattern and the contact portion can be maintained.
However, if the housing is heated to a high temperature owing to, for example, heat generation of the circuit board, the resin of the housing becomes soft, and the receiving portion may be deformed. If the receiving portion is deformed, the position of the circuit board received in the receiving portion is dislocated. In this case, the contact pressure between the contact portion and the conductive pattern becomes lower, and a contact failure may occur.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electric connector and a connection structure for the electric connector which are capable of stably maintaining the contact pressure applied to a circuit board and the like.